The male line of the great American racehorse and sire Native Dancer has had three opportunities to transplant itself to Europe. Native Dancer’s son Dan Cupid ran second by a head to the great Herbager in the 1959 French Derby and sired the greatest of French racehorses Sea-Bird, who was exported to America and died young without getting a son who carried on the line. Native Dancer’s once-raced son Atan sired the brilliant 1970s English 2-year-old Sharpen Up, a highly successful sire on both sides of the Atlantic in the 1980s, whose sons Kris and Diesis (full brothers) were both highly successful sires, but neither established an enduring male line. By the 1990s sons and grandsons of Native Dancer’s line-founding grandson Mr. Prospector gained a foothold, and both French-trained Machiavellian and the American Gone West have carried forward global branches of Native Dancer’s tribe. :: DRF BREEDING LIVE: Real-time coverage of breeding and sales By far the best European-bred sire from the Native Dancer male line, though, has been Seeking the Gold’s grandson Dubawi, by Dubai Millennium. Dubawi shows every sign of passing on Native Dancer’s genes to future generations. Dubawi’s son Poet’s Voice is sire of last weekend’s Group 1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Poet’s Word, a seventh-generation descendant in male line from Native Dancer. Bred in England by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum’s Darley, Poet’s Voice was from the first crop of Dubawi, a top-class miler who won the Irish 2000 Guineas and was the best horse sired by Sheikh Mohammed’s great Dubai Millennium in his only crop. Although Dubawi was not widely expected to be anywhere near as great a sire as he is, Poet’s Voice was bred well enough to be any kind of racehorse, and he was a very good one. Poet’s Voice was the best of three stakes winners out of the Chief’s Crown mare Bright Tiara, a full sister to Grade 1 winner Chief Honcho from the great family of Exclusive that includes Exclusive Native, General Assembly, Versailles Treaty, Gold Fever, and Bellamy Road. Trained by Saeed bin Suroor, Poet’s Voice won two of his five starts at 2 in 2009, including the Group 2 Champagne Stakes at Doncaster. He started slowly at 3, running down the field in both the French 2000 Guineas and the Group 3 Prix de la Porte Maillot, but then was beaten only a nose by Sea Lord in the Group 3 Sovereign Stakes at Salisbury, before defeating Main Aim by 4 ½ lengths in the Group 2 Celebration Mile at Goodwood. Poet’s Voice reached the pinnacle of his career in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot, rallying bravely from last to win a head-bobbing finish with Rip Van Winkle, with Dubawi’s best first-crop son Makfi well behind. Poet’s Voice raced on through his 4-year-old season, but failed to win again, retiring in 2012 to Sheikh Mohammed’s Dalham Hall Stud in Newmarket. Poet’s Word is the best of Poet’s Voice’s 14 black-type winners from 440 foals age 3 and up. Poet’s Voice has been remarkably successful with his Italian runners, siring 2018 Italian Derby winner Summer Festival (out of Kamaan, by Diktat), 2018 Italian Oaks winner Sand Zabeel (Samira Gold, by Gold Away), Italian 1000 Guineas winner Mi Raccomando (Maschero d’Oro, by Mtoto), Italian 2000 Guineas winner Poeta Diletto (Mia Diletta, by Selkirk), and Italian highweight Voice of Love (Snowfield, by Tale of the Cat). He has sired another classic winner in Germany, the German 2000 Guineas winner Poetic Dream (Zain Al Bolden, by Poliglote). Poet’s Word also comes from an exceptional female family and is likely to be afforded a better opportunity than his sire received in his brief stud career. His dam, stakes-placed Whirly Bird, by Nashwan, is also dam of Group 3 winner Malabar, by Raven’s Pass, and second dam of current Irish and American stakes winner Beckford, by Bated Breath. Whirly Bird is half-sister to stakes winners Ursa Major, by Galileo, and Inchiri, by Sadler’s Wells. Poet’s Word’s second dam, Inchyre, by Shirley Heights, was half-sister to three more stakes winners headed by the useful sire Inchinor, by Ahonoora, all out of the tiny but mighty racemare Inchmurrin, by Lomond. The family also includes Canadian champion Miss Keller and St. Leger winner Harbour Law. Sadly, Poet’s Voice died from a heart attack on March 17, and unless another top son emerges from his later crops, Poet’s Word, who upset champion Cracksman in the Group 1 Prince of Wales Stakes at Royal Ascot, is likely to be his best opportunity to extend the male line of Native Dancer to an eighth generation.